Platform support for railway cars



Mach 25 i924.`

L. F. SEELAR RM SUPPORT FOR RMLWAY CARS Patented ar. 25, 1924.

htt'lld law LUTHER F. SEELAR, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO ST.LOUIS CAR COMPANY, l0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOUR, A. CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

PLATFORM SUPPORT FOR RAILWAY CARS.

Application filed August 11, 1923. Serial No. 656,771.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, LUTHER F. SEELAR, a citizen of the United States,residing at city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Platform Supports for RailwayCars, of which the following is a speci- Afication.

This invention relates to railway cars, and more particularly to a sidesill or sill ex# tension for the platform at the end of a car.

The side sill extension on which the car platform is mounted isgenerally referred to as a platform knee.

As the platforms are generally on a different plane from the car bodyfloor, it is necessary to deflect this knee downwardly and as a ruleinwardly at the same time. The usual method of constructing a platformknee for trolly cars is to employ a large structural angle which is bentinto the proper shape and reenforced at the bend by flat bars.

Another method of forming platform knees is to employ a heavy structuralchannel of the type generally known as a ship channel, bendedv intoshape, and reenforce the web of the channel with flat plates.

The necessity of bending the metal to the desired shape and thenreenforcing it calls for a large amount of labor in the construction ofthese articles.

In order to simplify the construction and obtain the desired resultswith the minimum of labor and material, l form a cast steel knee of thedesired shape in which the parts are proportioned to resist direct loadand torsional strains. The knee is further constructed so that itincreases in strength with increase of Stress, and the labor offabrication and attachment to the car is reduced to a minimum.

In the accompanying drawings, l have shown one embodiment of theinvention. In this showing:

Figure l is a diagrammatic illustration of the frame of a car body,

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the platform knee,

Figure 3 is a plan view thereof,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view on line 4 4 of Figure 2, and

Figure 5 is a similar view on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral l designates the sidesills of a car body which are arranged over the truck and connected atintervals by transverse members 2. The end of the car body is roundedand is provided with an end sill 3 shaped to fit under the platform. Asshown, the side sills terminate inwardly on the ends of the car and aplatform knee or side sill extension et is arranged between the end silland the side sills of the car. This knee is formed of cast steel and isshaped to t the car body to which it is attached. As shown, the innerend 5 extends at an angle to the body portion and is deflected upwardly,the door of the car body being elevated above the platform of the car.The outer end of the knee is provided with a flat face 6 for theattachment of the bumper. Adjacent the outer end, the knee is providedfor the dat portion 7 adapted to form a support for the crown of thetrolly car. The upper face beyond this portion is substantially flat asat 8, and side walls 9 extend downwardly there from. The lower face 10extends at an angle to the upper face, increasing the cross sectionalarea of the knee toward the center at the point where the greateststrength is required Adjacent the bend connecting the offset portion 5to the main portion 4 of the knee, there is provided a transverse webl1, furnishing a reenforcement. Rearwardly of this web, the sides areextended upwardly, as indicated at l2, above the top and theseextensions continue to a point beyond the bend. The extensions areprovided with flattened upper portions 13, forming a substantiallyT-shaped cross section at the point of the bend, adapted to receive theadjacent transverse sill 2, arranged at the junction of the car body andthe platform. As shown, the web l1 extends slightly above the horizontalportions 13, forming a lip 14: against which the side of the sill rests.The inner end of the knee is provided with an extended flattened face l5to which the side sill l of the car is secured.

The advantages of this device will be ap parent to one skilled in theart. By providing a cast steel knee, the labor incident to theconstruction of platform knees is reduced to a minimum. The knee may becast the proper size for a given type of street car body with the rearend 5 deiiecting the proper distance both horizontally and verticallyand readily placed in position by merely fastending the end sill to theextension 13 of the knee and the side sill to the flattened face 15 bymeans of bolts, rivets or the like. The increase in the cross sectionalarea. of the sill intermediate its ends provides the necessary supportat the desired point to resist the increased stress and the web 11 andextensions 12 reenforce the knee at the point of the bend, eliminatingthe necessity of attaching separate pla-tes When the device isassembled.

It is to be understood that the forml of the invention herewith shownand described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size, and arrange-ment of parts maybe resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A cast knee for car platforms compris ing a body portion having oneend extending at an angle thereto, and integral reenforcing meansadjacent the junction of the body portion and said end.

2. A cast knee for car platforms comprising a body portion having oneend extending at an angle thereto, and integral reen'forcing meansadjacent the junction of the body portion and said end, the crosssectional area of said body portion increasing toward the centerthereof.

3. A cast knee for car platforms comprising a body portion having itsouter end rounded to permit it to Vbe secured to the bumper sill of thecar, said body portion beingertended at an angle at a pointadjacent thecenter thereof, and integral reenforcing means formed on said bodyportion adjacent said angle.

4. cast knee for car platforms comprisinga body portion having a roundedouter end adapted to be secured to the bumper sill of a car and aflattened portion formed on the inner end adapted to be secured to theside sill, said. body portion increasing in cross sectional areaintermediate. its ends.

5. ."t cast knee for car platforms comprising a body portion having oneend arranged at an angle thereto, a transverse web formed on said bodyportion adjacent the junction of said end, and extensions formed on saidbody portion and extending longitudinally thereof at the junction ofsaid body portion and end.

In testimony whereof, I aifix my signature y in the presence of twoWitnesses.

LUTHER. F. SEELAR.

Witnesses:

C. E. BLEIKAMB, WM. F. SGHWEIKERT.

